Oregon
Oregon trend fuels Wyden effort to curb spread of ‘maternity deserts’
Nearly a year after Baker City saw its only birth center close, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden has unveiled a plan to prevent more rural and underserved communities from becoming “maternity deserts.”
On Monday Oregon’s senior senator in Washington D.C. outlined draft legislation designed to increase the flow of federal funding to hospitals that otherwise might close their maternity units because of reduced demand. Wyden’s legislation follows other efforts to address the trend of hospitals increasingly closing costly maternity units.
Saint Alphonsus Health System closed its birth center in Baker City last year, despite opposition from community members as well as Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden and other elected leaders.
Courtesy of Saint Alphonsus
“We can’t just sit by and turn these communities into sacrifice zones,” he said. “That’s what’s happening if you don’t have rural healthcare and you can’t deliver babies.”
Nearly a quarter of rural hospitals, or 267, stopped providing obstetric services between 2011 and 2021, according to research from health care consulting firm Chartis. Meanwhile, the U.S. has seen notable increases in maternal mortality, with some states seeing their rates double.
Wyden said Oregon saw a “textbook” case of what can happen after the closure of a birth center in Baker City last year. Saint Alphonsus Health System closed its birth center for the small eastern Oregon town, despite opposition from community members as well as Wyden and other elected leaders.
Wyden noted that since the closure, expectant mothers in Baker City now have to drive at least 45 minutes to the nearest hospital in La Grande on a road that is sometimes impassable because of winter weather or wildfires.
“Closures like these are driven by stark economic realities facing the hospitals, as well as efforts by large hospital chains ‘streamline’ their business at the expense of young families,” he said.
Wyden’s legislation would increase Medicaid payment rates for labor and delivery services at eligible rural and “high-need” urban hospitals. Hospitals that see low volumes of births would receive “standby” payments under the legislation to cover the costs of obstetric staffing and maintenance costs. These hospitals could also receive payment adjustments for labor and delivery services with the requirement that they stay in the community.
Additionally, the legislation would require states to study and report to federal authorities the costs of providing labor and delivery services in rural and underserved areas. States would also have to provide women with 12 months of postpartum Medicaid coverage.
Saint Alphonsus announced the closure of its Baker City maternity unit with only four weeks’ notice, which was pushed back by a month with the help of federal funds to help staff it. Wyden’s legislation would require hospitals to give additional notice of maternity unit closures.
Wyden said he did not know if his legislation would help Saint Alphonsus reopen its birth center. Saint Alphonsus did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Lund Report.
The Hospital Association of Oregon expressed support for the proposal in a statement issued by Wyden’s office, saying rural hospitals deliver one in six babies in Oregon.
Wyden didn’t have details on how much the legislation would increase Medicaid rates. The legislation is cosponsored by 15 other Democrats, and Wyden said he is optimistic that Republicans will sign on.
“The Senate is essentially a very rural institution,” he said.
Legacy Health’s move to close its maternity unit at its Gresham hospital also sparked headlines and community opposition in 2023. The health system reopened the maternity unit, which serves a less affluent and more diverse population in east Multnomah County, after coming under scrutiny by state and federal regulators.
In response to the situation, the Oregon Health Authority finalized rules this year that require hospitals to study how vulnerable communities would be affected by closures of vital services.
This story was originally published by The Lund Report, an independent nonprofit health news organization based in Oregon. You can reach Jake Thomas at (jake@thelundreport.org) or at @jthomasreports on X.
Oregon
Where Oregon Ducks rank in industry recruiting rankings for 2027 class
With the winter evaluation period of high school football recruiting now behind us, we’ve seen some of the top recruiting sites update their rankings over the past few weeks and start to reset their boards for the 2027 class. In February, On3 shifted players around after getting fresh looks at the class, and 247Sports did the same earlier this week.
So with Oregon’s handful of commits getting new ratings, where does the Ducks’ class rank nationally in this cycle?
If you look at sites individually, it looks different, with 247Sports having Oregon sitting at No. 13 in the nation. At Rivals, though, they take the industry ranking, which factors in their own rankings, plus an average from 247Sports and ESPN.
In the industry rankings, Oregon sits at No. 9 in the nation, with five commitments.
Going into the summer months, the Ducks are in a great spot, leading or among the top schools for a handful of the top prospects in the nation, like 5-star QB Will Mencl or 5-star WR Dakota Guerrant. We will see what movement Oregon can make in the coming months after official visits take place early in the summer.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
Oregon
New Data Shows Oregon E-Scooter Injuries on the Rise
Data released by the Oregon Health Authority this week suggests Oregonians are getting hurt on electric scooters more every year.
In recent years, according to OHA, an “e-scooter-specific code” was developed for health care tracking purposes.
From 2021 to 2024, annual injury reports under this code from Oregon hospitals and emergency departments jumped from 211 to 418.
And in just the first nine months of 2025, there had been 509 such reports.
“These injuries are not minor scrapes,” said Dagan Wright, an OHA epidemiologist, in a written statement. “They often involve head injuries, broken bones, and other serious trauma that requires emergency or inpatient care.”
The city of Portland signed contracts with three e-scooter rental companies in 2018, as the transportation craze spread across the country. But e-scooter injury diagnosis codes are relatively new in health care reporting, Wright said in the OHA statement.
“While the overall numbers remain smaller than for other transportation-related injuries, the rapid increase over a short period of time is a clear safety signal,” OHA added.
The agency highlighted the story of Portland e-scooter commuter Daniel Pflieger, who it says was riding a scooter home when he reportedly slid on ice. He bruised several ribs.
Sometimes outcomes are worse. OHA identified 17 deaths linked to electric or motorized scooters since 2018, and seven of those occurred in 2025.
OHA says that e-bikes raise many similar safety concerns as e-scooters. The first full year for which e-bike injuries were coded for reporting was 2023. State data shows 392 reported e-bike injuries that year, 683 in 2024, and 760 in the first nine months of 2025.
“Injuries involving e-bikes and e-scooters share common risk factors—speed, lack of helmet use, roadway design, and interactions with motor vehicles,” Wright said.
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Oregon
Oregon women’s basketball playing for March Madness seeding vs. Purdue
Hear Oregon women’s Graves, Etute and Fiso after loss to Washington
The Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team finishes the regular season with a March 1 home loss to Washington.
At times, the Oregon women’s basketball team has certainly made things much harder on themselves than it needs to be. The team has also produced some miraculous comeback victories, putting itself in position to make women’s March Madness for the second straight season.
March 1, in their final regular season game, the Ducks (20-11, 8-10 Big Ten) finished on the wrong end of yet another tight game to Washington, 70-69. It’s the second time this season Oregon has come back from a double-digit deficit, but ended up losing to the Huskies (20-9, 10-8).
Those aren’t the only times Oregon has come back from a double-digit deficit, like it did in wins vs. Nebraska and USC. The No. 11-seed Ducks are hoping they won’t need heroics in a Big Ten tournament first-round game against No. 14 Purdue this Wednesday.
Watch Oregon basketball on Peacock
“I think our biggest weakness this year has been our inconsistency,” coach Kelly Graves said, “something we’ve battled all year. The great thing is our kids know, regardless of the score, we’ve got a chance. We’ll make it a game at some point. As a coach, it drives you nuts. Hopefully we can figure it out and play more consistent basketball.”
Oregon’s volatility has seen it earn three double-digit comeback wins this year, but also blow several games in the final moments.
Against Wisconsin, the Ducks held a 6-point lead with less than a minute remaining, but lost in overtime. Against Illinois, Oregon held a 21-point lead at halftime, blew it in the third quarter, trailed by eight with minutes to play and somehow eked out a win.
That makes UO somewhat of a wild card heading into the conference tournament this week at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
“It’s definitely (been) a rollercoaster,” guard Katie Fiso said. “A lot of highs and a lot of lows. But one thing that I try to see through all games is our grittiness and our toughness. One thing that stays consistent throughout the season is our toughness and our grittiness. The game isn’t over until the last bell rings.”
The Ducks will be taking on a Boilermakers (13-16, 5-13) team that has struggled against most of the top competition in the league, but played Oregon tight in a Feb. 25 Ducks win.
Graves said when the Ducks went throughout the postgame handshake line after, the Boilermakers felt like their season would end after the regular season. Thanks to some upsets, Purdue is in the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 14 seed.
“We’re playing a team that probably feels like it’s playing with house money,” Graves said. “We’ve got to pick ourselves back up and get it done.”
What channel is Oregon vs. Purdue on today in Big Ten tournament?
Oregon will tip off vs. Purdue on Peacock, with no TV option to watch the game.
Oregon vs. Purdue start time in Big Ten tournament
- Date: Wednesday, March 4
- Time: Around 5:30 p.m. PT
Oregon and Purdue will play around 5:30 p.m. PT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The first game of the day begins at 12:30 p.m. PT, with the next game 25 minutes after the first game ends, and so on. The Ducks play in the third game of the day, so no official tip time is listed.
Oregon women’s basketball schedule 2025-26
Below are the past five games of Oregon’s 2025-26 basketball season. For the full schedule, click here.
| Feb. 15 | Washington 51, Oregon 43 |
| Feb. 19 | Oregon 80, Nebraska 76 |
| Feb. 22 | Indiana 72, Oregon 65 |
| Feb. 25 | Oregon 71, Purdue 65 |
| March 1 | Washington 70, Oregon 69 |
| March 4 | Oregon vs. Purdue (Big Ten tournament) |
Purdue women’s basketball schedule 2025-26
Below are the past five games of Purdue’s 2025-26 basketball season. For the full schedule, click here.
Feb. 14
Purdue 72, Rutgers 57
Feb. 19
Iowa 83, Purdue 74
Feb. 22
Maryland 99, Purdue 66
Feb. 25
Oregon 71, Purdue 65
March 1
Purdue 67, Northwestern 62
March 4
Oregon vs. Purdue (Big Ten tournament)
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football and women’s basketball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com.
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